At the moment I don’t have any new projects, so I decided it’s a good time to share some older work and build up the archives. Here’s a budget-friendly room makeover my sister-in-law and I completed as a surprise birthday present for my niece Natalie — she loved it! The whole project began with a comforter my sister-in-law found at a yard sale. My best tip: choose the main fabric or pattern first, then select paint colors, accessories and coordinating fabrics to match it.
After we chose the bedding, we picked paint that coordinated with the colors. To break up the solid wall color, we added a stripe around the room. Paint the main wall color first and let it dry completely. Then use painter’s tape to mark the stripe. Paint over the inner edge of the tape with the main color and let it dry—this seals the tape and prevents bleed-through. Finally, paint the stripe color between the tape. This simple technique creates a crisp line, especially important on textured walls.
I found a really sweet coordinating fabric with dimensional flower embellishments — the flowers are sewn on, not just printed. That fabric was the biggest splurge, but it made a big impact. The window valances were easy to sew: hem three sides and make a rod pocket at the top. We also painted wooden letters bright red for a pop against all the blues and greens — choosing a contrasting color is an easy way to add energy to the room.
I transformed a small stool with a simple slipcover that slides on easily. I cut the flower embellishments off the leftover valance fabric and hand-sewed them onto the slipcover and the bed canopy. I also made a small cushion using a scrap of the costly fabric on top and a cheaper fabric underneath to save money. Using expensive fabric as an accent stretches your budget while keeping the look cohesive.
We repainted a yard-sale dresser white with paint we already had and updated the hardware for an instant refresh. Brandy bought a new bookcase and we added coordinating baskets to introduce more color and texture.
I found thank-you note cards at the Dollar Tree that matched our color scheme. We painted several yard-sale frames, mounted the cards on coordinating scrapbook paper, and framed them for inexpensive wall art. Light switch plates were covered with scrapbook paper and sealed with Mod Podge for a quick custom detail.
I covered storage boxes with scrapbook paper and Mod Podge for coordinated bedside storage. For the message board, I painted a frame, cut cardboard to size, added batting and fabric, then created a crisscross ribbon pattern and hot-glued the flower embellishments on the intersections. The lamp shade already matched, so I simply hot-glued a trim around the bottom edge and painted the drawer fronts red to tie everything together.
The Pottery Barn–inspired canopy was the finishing touch. Sewing the ribbon trim along the fabric edges was time-consuming, but the decorative stitch added a nice detail. I attached a few of the flower embellishments from the valance to give the canopy whimsy. To hang it, I painted L brackets, a dowel rod, eye hooks and string to match. The L brackets hold the dowel rod; we tied string from ceiling eye hooks to the rod and draped the canopy over it. Today, removable ceiling hooks could offer a no-drill alternative.
I hope you enjoy these budget-friendly ideas as much as I enjoyed creating them for the best niece in the world. Love you, Natty Patty!